Office of the Nassau County Manager
Press Release
November 16, 2021
In recent weeks, the County has received questions related to the repair of County Road 121 from the Duval County Line to State Road 2/Crawford Road. Recognizing the critical nature of County Road 121, the Board, in collaboration with the Nassau County Legislative Delegation, secured $9 million in State appropriations to resurface the road from the Duval County line to State Road 2. (see June 4, 2021 Press Release)
In preparation for requesting State funding for resurfacing of CR121, in January 2021, the Board of County Commissioners conducted traffic counts along County Road 121 at three locations: north of County Road 108; south of Stokes Road; and south of SR 2 (north of Stokes Road). The traffic counts captured both the number vehicles and types of vehicles that use the roadway. Next, the Board of County Commissioners assessed the structural integrity of the road’s subbase, the supporting material under the asphalt surface, by taking a series of core samples from the roadway.
Based on the analysis, it was determined there are some areas of CR121 where the structural integrity of the subbase is sufficient to support heavy traffic and will only require resurfacing at a cost between $160,000 to $220,000 per mile. However, there are other areas of CR121 where a full reconstruction of the road, including the subbase, will be required at a cost of $620,000 per mile. Based the available data, the cost estimate is roughly $500,000 per mile, or $9,000,000, to complete the approximately 16 mile segment from the Duval County Line to SR2/Crawford Road, factoring in cost for design and contingency.
Project design is anticipated to begin in the late summer/early fall of 2022. The design portion of this project will include a deeper evaluation of the roadway’s structural integrity and identification of the best option for addressing the deficiencies found segment by segment (resurfacing, full reconstruction, etc.). Construction is anticipated to begin early 2023 and will take six to nine months to complete. Based on the anticipated timeline, the segment from Duval County Line to SR2/Crawford Road, should be complete by the end of 2023.
Given the approximately two-year process to complete repairing the southern half of the CR121 corridor, Nassau County Public Works and Road Department has an interim plan to address the 16 mile segment of County Road 121. Commencing after Thanksgiving, Road Department staff will work diligently to repair potholes in this segment of the corridor by removing loose asphalt and debris; recompacting the base; filling the holes with tackifier, a compound that increases stickiness; filling the holes with a new asphalt mix; and then tamping it into place, packing it tightly before leveling it to the surrounding road. The Road Department will also use a grader to remove the accumulation of soil along portions of the roadway’s shoulders to allow rain water to drain away more quickly from the paved surface.
In addition to the above, on October 20, 2021, the Board of County Commissioners awarded bids to three vendors to provide roadside mowing across the County. With the new mowing contracts in place, there will be an increase in the number of times the roadside will be cut each year which will allow Road Department staff to dedicate the necessary time on drainage and road maintenance matters.
Related to the above, on August 22, 2021, the Board of County Commissioners adopted a 22-year Pavement Management Plan valued at $85 million dollars which prioritized roadways for treatment, based on current conditions. Segments of County Road 121 were identified as a top priority. In addition to the $9 million secured in the 2021 for the southern segment of CR121, the Board of County Commissioners is currently working with the Nassau Legislative Delegation to petition the State Legislature for an additional $9 million to resurface the northern segment of County Road 121 from State Road 2 to US 1.
If you have any questions, please contact the Nassau County Road Department at (904) 530-6175.
Is the road going to be widened and bike lanes added? I am totally surprised that there has not been more incidents with bikers the way they abuse the bike laws out in wooded areas.